2021 AACC Annual Scientific Meeting to Require Both Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination and Negative Test from All In-Person Attendees

The 2021 American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC; Washington, DC, USA) Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo will be a live event with new location and dates, backed by plans to make the meeting a safe and productive one amidst the flare up in the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year's AACC Annual Scientific Meeting, held in partnership with the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists, has moved from Anaheim to Atlanta due to stringent COVID-19 lockdown requirements in California, and the meeting dates have also moved by one week to September 26-30. In his latest email, AACC 2021 President Dr. Stephen Master, PhD, had outlined the extensive health and safety planning to make this year’s AACC Annual Scientific Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo in Atlanta a safe and productive in-person meeting. In order to ensure the safety of all attendees, the email clearly stated that unvaccinated people would not be permitted into the conference and expo campus without a current, negative SARS-CoV-2 antigen test or verified proof of vaccination.

As per its latest update, AACC now requires all meeting participants to be vaccinated, and for all meeting participants to have received a negative PCR or antigen COVID-19 test within 72 hours of arriving at the convention center. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination AND proof of a negative PCR or antigen coronavirus test will be required for in-person attendees of the 2021 AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo. Individuals who are unable to provide both of these things will not be permitted to enter the meeting and antibody test results will not be accepted.

Additionally, mask policies will be in place and strictly enforced. All persons within the AACC meeting campus must wear a face mask covering their nose and mouth at all times they are indoors. Moreover, detailed meeting logistics and design have been laid down to prevent crowding and disperse crowding at the event, and additional measures may be taken if required. Signage will be used to encourage social distancing, plexiglass separations will be placed at points of sale, and educational session times will be staggered to reduce the number of attendees in common areas.

“Our plans to hold a safe and productive in-person meeting in Atlanta have not changed,” wrote Dr. Stephen Master. “The meeting is on, and it will be safe.”

“I encourage you to check out the conference program if you haven’t already. And I look forward to seeing many of you in Atlanta next month,” he added.

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American Association for Clinical Chemistry